ARLINGTON — Twenty-four years ago, Sonya Christilaw was a broke single mother putting herself through college.
She was 17 and it was a struggle to make ends meet. When she couldn’t stretch them quite far enough, food and clothing banks helped her stay afloat.
She also relied on one tireless, loving cheerleader: her mom. Louise Sibley Martinez, who went by Lou, was there for her daughter every step of the way.
Now Christilaw, 41, lives comfortably with her husband in Marysville. Her oldest son is 24, her middle son is 15 and her youngest is 8. It’s no longer a struggle to get by, but she hasn’t forgotten what poverty feels like. And she hasn’t forgotten how important it was to have help from her mom.
Lung cancer killed Lou Martinez in June. In February, Christilaw started a foundation in her mother’s honor.
“To say thanks for all the things my mom did for me, I wanted to start a foundation in her name to help other women,” Christilaw said. “I called it Nana’s Foundation because everyone called her Nana — my friends, my kids, her friends.”
She came up with the idea for a foundation while she was sitting in a Staples parking lot a few years ago, waiting in the car for her husband. There was a little Hallmark store in the same lot that had closed down. The vacant shop was starting to look dirty and abandoned. She thought a little place like that could make a big difference in people’s lives if it was a center for homeless or low-income women, a place where they could get free clothing, toiletries, diapers and other supplies.
She didn’t end up in the former Hallmark store. Instead, she found a little upstairs office on North Olympic Avenue in downtown Arlington. It’s a 140-square-foot room with bright green walls. Shelves and bins are cluttered with clothes, dishes, bags, personal hygiene supplies and miscellaneous items, such as children’s toys or a pair of sneakers.
From her little green office, Christilaw makes appointments with homeless and low-income families so they can come pick out the things they need, mostly clothes. She also puts together what she calls “purses of pride” and “packs of pride.”
After her mother’s death, Christilaw started filling purses with hygiene supplies, such as deodorant, razors, toilet paper, tooth brushes and toothpaste. She drove around looking for homeless women and passed out the bags to whomever she found. She saw a lot more men than women living on the streets and started putting together small duffel bags or backpacks full of toiletries for men.
It helped, but she didn’t feel as though she was meeting the need.
Having an office is a big step for the foundation, she said, but it’s not enough.
“The ultimate goal is to have Nana’s a free store, where people can come and get what they need,” she said. “It’s very important to me that we keep it no questions asked.”
Friends cautioned Christilaw that her dream would be nearly impossible because if she didn’t require people to prove they were homeless or low-income, selfish people take free supplies even if they didn’t need them.
So far, that hasn’t been the case, she said. Usually when people come in to get something, they leave something else behind. For example, a mother might come in for diapers and leave behind an outfit her baby or toddler has outgrown.
“I’ve been there,” Christilaw said. “I’ve used food banks. I’ve gotten free clothing.”
She helps up to five people per day. Most are women, many with young children, she said. She packages and passes out about 10 purses and packs of pride each week.
Christilaw is running the foundation with the help of one other volunteer. There are no paid employees. Her family helps when they can. Her 8-year-old spent his spring break helping her sort through donated clothes.
“What I really want people to know is anybody can make a difference; you’ve just got to decide to get up and do it,” Christilaw said. “There’s so much to be done and everyone thinks the big organizations will take care of it, but they aren’t meeting the need. If they were, people wouldn’t be calling me.”
Kari Bray: 425-339-3439; kbray@heraldnet.com.
Join in
Nana’s Foundation always is taking donations, Sonya Christilaw said. Diapers are a constant need, as are toiletries and clothes for all ages. She has a wish list online through Amazon at tinyurl.com/nanaswishlist where people can order supplies and have them shipped to her office.
Volunteers are needed, as well. Call Christilaw at 360-474-7057 to ask about volunteering. More information is online at nanasfoundation.org.
A karaoke night and raffle fundraiser is planned for May 21 at the Living Room Coffee House, 1212 State Ave. in Marysville. Admission is $5 and proceeds go to the foundation. The event starts at 7 p.m.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
